2555 Juba Summit
The 2555 Juba Summit was the first bilateral summit held in the African Metropolis of Juba, South Sudan, between the Human and the Sangheili Governments to discuss issues of trade and mutual protection. The summit itself was the culmination of an eighteen month period, beginning in May 2554 at the height of the Kafkian Uprising, in which both species governments had negotiated via back-channels. When announced on October 9th, sixth weeks before the summit was scheduled to begin, it was met by a mixed-to-negative reception in both species sectors of the galaxy. Most Humans felt it was too soon to begin serious political negotiations, while many Sangheili observers believed that it was best to leave humanity alone after the disastrous War that had ended not three years prior. However, unknown to many was the precarious position the United Earth's Government military was in, indeed the 2554 Mid-Rim Protests had flagged up to those in the crippling inability humanity had to adequately defend its remaining colonies. For the newly unified Sangheili government, their economy was on the verge of collapsing in part due to their sudden exodus from the Covenenant, without the ability to fully prepare its infrastructure and its previous reliance on the San 'Shyuum. Background United Earth Government The had a devastating impact on the human populace, culturally, economically, politically and military. The all-consuming war effort had pervaded and coloured every aspect of human life during the twenty-seven year conflict. As such, society found itself struggling to adapt to peace and new found allies in a species that had spent over two decades committing genocide against them. When the War ended on 3rd March 2553, many hoped that a new era of peaceful reconstruction would begin and for a year that was the case. The UEG, alongside the UNSC, reestablished the in a considerably reduced role, and was made into a cabinet position, with the goal of regaining contact with the colonies and bringing them back into the fold. This was an easily achievable task as there was a huge sense of solidarity between the colonies and Earth immediately following the war. On March 1st 2554, almost a year since hostilities ceased, the first dissent began to creep through, with the beginning of the 2554 New Canadian Revolution, this was followed a week later by the Kafkian Uprising on March 8th, two of the key events in what was later dubbed the 2554 Mid-Rim Protests. In the beginning, both protests were predominately non-violent and had popular support across human space, as they viewed the entrenched Mid-Rim Governments as opponents to the new found optimism and reconstruction. Indeed, the longer the protests continued the more support they found with the common people. However, on May 23rd, the Kafkian Uprising, after weeks of United Rebel Front infiltration, the Uprising turned violent and by June 18th, had become openly secessionist. In doing so, many people turned against the young protesters on Kafka, while the peaceful New Canadian Uprising lost its appeal, with media coverage almost at nil until it ended with next-to-no loss of life on the 16th October in 2554. The Kafkian Uprising highlighted with brutal clarity the loss of military power the UNSC had experienced. The Home Fleet had been completely decimated during the Battle of Earth, having been reduced from one hundred and thirty four ships, to twenty-three. This, combined with several smaller colonial fleets and battlegroups, brought the total number of functioning ships in UNSC fleet at sixty-seven. Only thirteen ships were found to be combat worthy enough to be sent to Kafka in August 2554. Therefore, by extension, the UNSC was incapable of adequately defending its colonies, which, despite being reduced by one-third during the War, still stood at five hundred and sixty worlds. This desperate need for more manpower was perhaps the biggest reason for the pursuit of a formal negotiation with the Sangheili, though was kept from most negotiators during the back-channeling, with only those with the highest clearance given prior knowledge. Economic factors were also a key reason for establishing a summit, while the human economy was too large to fail outright, it had been in heavy recession since 2550 and there were several food shortages throughout the colonies. Within the first fifteen years of the Human-Covenant War, the Outer Colonies barely served as a distinction any more, with them either being glassed or the abandoned by the UNSC, currently in the process of reintegration. As such, there was an incredible need to rapidly redevelop the surviving Outer Colonies, and diversify some of the smaller Inner Colonies into heavily agrarian worlds. However, the Unified Earth Government lacked the funds to go ahead with their new economic vision. Thus, this economic reality necessitated the need for a summit between the two galactic powers to go ahead. At the wars end, humanity found itself with an over-abundance of refined commodities such as petroleum, diesel, uranium, etc. at their disposal, that diluted the prices within humanity's own local market, leading to an inflated currency. The pursuit of an entrance into new markets was paramount and was among the most talked about element during the secret discussions with the Sangheili. Closer economic ties presented its own set of problems, that could not be rectified without an official summit. Perhaps of the most important to the success of the economic aims, was that the currencies of both nations had never been valued against one another. Trade was almost impossible in any feasible monetary sense until a common market could be created. As such, a hastily created commission filed with economists and other academics from both species worked together for a period of five weeks, beginning in December 2554, to figure it out. The findings were, perhaps, surprising to many, with the human currency being valued stronger than the Sangheili's, due to the vast need for human manufactured products. A trade agreement between was seen by many spectators as a 'miracle' because the estimated export figures were in the trillions of credits. The third and final key factor in the need for a summit between the two species were the political implications of a closer working relationship. Both parties understood that the majority of Halo rings and Forerunner weaponry remained undiscovered and posed a significant threat to the galaxy should an unknown species stumble upon them. Linked to this point, was the sheer vastness of the unexplored Milky Way Galaxy and the possibility for as yet unforeseen dangers required a closer union, in order to not face these abstract threats alone. However, the most pressing issue facing the delegation was the Covenant splinter factions that had sprung up in response to the death of Truth. The UNSC had been fortunate enough to have avoided any incursion by the new splinter factions, but intelligence shared by the Sangheili had shown that they had been planned and could have potentially disastrous effects, should a guerilla war begin on the fringes of UNSC space, now devoid of any semblance of military support. In short, the UNSC recognised that in they could not survive in the post-war galaxy on their own, especially not with the near-destruction of their navy and the abundant threats that remained at large. The Sangheili Commonwealth of Sangheili Kaidons The Summit Aims Early Negotiations Impasses Compromises Settlement The Agreement Reception